Normalcy
by MANGOtangelo
Summary: Rebelling? What, is she getting a tattoo of Sigmund Freud on her arm?" Dasey/oneshot.


A/N: Uhhhh, I have NO idea how to use this site… bear with me.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Life with Derek. If I did there would never have been any new episodes because of my extreme procrastination skills.

* * *

Casey has done many stupid things in her life, mostly because of Derek. So it should come as no surprise that Derek was at the root of the problem. Not only was he the root of the problem, he was the stem and flower. He _was_ the whole problem (now if only she could nip it in the bud).

What really surprises her is the fact that she can ruin her family like this. George had just begun to act more like a father and less like a… _George_ (and what with the baby coming so soon).

So, in true Casey-like nature she does (what she deemed as) the sane thing to do: over react.

* * *

" Derek, I'm worried…" Nora's voice warbles on the other line.

" Whatever Casey told you is a lie!"

Nora only sighs, " That's just it! Casey hasn't told me _anything_. She hasn't called, messaged, or emailed me in _weeks_."

" Let me get this right, she _reports_ to you on an usual basis? I'm worried too…"

" That's not the _point_! I think she might be rebelling." Nora was usual a very sane (not pregnant) woman but this was not one of those moments.

" Rebelling? What, is she getting a tattoo of Sigmund Freud on her arm?" Derek guffaws.

" Derek," Nora hisses. " I'm serious."

" So am I."

* * *

Casey stares at the stuffed bunny on her chair and strangely it stared back. The toy was gift from her mother and George the day she left for college and at first she liked it because it reminded her of home. Now it just makes her feel guilty.

" Stop staring at me. Stop it! I didn't mean to fall in love with him…" The bunny just continues its blank stare.

" It just _happened_, okay?" Casey doesn't want to think about the family. She _especially_ doesn't want to think about Derek. Thinking about Derek makes it hard to breath and then the guilt begins to set in.

Casey knows when it all started. Sometime after the insults became more playful and the fights became more physical. That was when Casey knew it had to stop (whatever _it_ was). Thus she avoided him like the Plague and when she couldn't Klutzilla made its grand appearance.

It was during one of her many conversations with Emily that she finally knew (an epiphany, really) what was wrong.

The symptoms became so clear and she didn't need a doctor to know that it was fatal. She had Derek-itis and she had it _bad_.

* * *

" Derek, It's me." Emily says casually. But the warning bells still go off in his head because she is, after all, an ex.

" Gosh Em, I'd love to talk but I've got hockey practice…" Honestly, he wasn't even _trying _to lie at this point.

" Derek, I'm not going to yell at you," Plus, she knew him (and the time of his hockey practices) too well. " It's about Casey."

" Isn't everything? I wonder who will call me about her next. Maybe the good, old Queen of England!"

" I haven't talked to her in days, Derek. _Days_!" Emily's voice was rising to a shrill pitch but Derek knows what they are trying to do and he is _not _going to let himself be guilted into finding Casey.

" So?"

" I'm worried that she might be doing something reckless and stupid…"

And it's silent for a while until Derek chokes out, " Wait. So she _is _getting a Sigmund Freud tattoo?"

" What—no, what?"

* * *

She hasn't eaten two days and it's because even _food_ reminds her of him (and that alone makes her loose her appetite). Her roommates are starting to worry and the good, old " I'm-just-not-all-that-hungry" spiel was wearing thin.

She knows that it isn't healthy to skip meals or talk to inanimate objects but then again normal has never been her forte. Still, It bothers her to think that Derek is the only one to ever stop her from being rational.

Casey can't help but think of her mother's reaction. Frankly, she'd have an aneurysm. It's this thought alone (and the possible harm she might indirectly cause the baby) that keeps her up at night. She knows that the likelihood of her mother having an aneurysm and dying is slim but since when has she listened to reason?

* * *

" Hey Derek, it's me Lizzie."

"…"

" Derek, I know you're there. You answered 'hello'! Derek?"

"…"

" Fine, be a baby… but I'm r-really worried about Casey." At this point she sounds so close to tears that it shakes him out of his silence.

" Lizard! Look, she's probably fine…" He hears a sniffle and his heartbeat speeds. " I mean she _is _fine."

" Great, so that means you'll tell her to call me?" He briefly wonders where the tears went.

" Well, I don't really know where her dorm—" All he hears is the dial tone.

* * *

She's passing all her classes with an 'A-' or worse. It's not _bad_ but it's not her best and that is killing her. Casey prided herself by always staying focused and attentive.

This Derek-problem is too much to handle, the stress is causing an ulcer and she can't sleep at night because of the nightmares she gets. All she can see is her family disowning her. Sometimes she picks up her phone and looks at all the missed calls she has. But most of the time she stuffs her cell phone under her ugly, periwinkle couch.

* * *

" Hello?"

" Hey… Dad." Derek has been waiting for his dad to call. He knows that everyone in the family is going to pressure him into seeing Casey.

" How's…hockey?" George asks awkwardly.

" Good…" He's wary now, wondering when the C-word will come up.

" And your grades?"

The only thing worse than talking about Casey is talking about school, " Fine, are you gonna talk to me about Casey?"

" Do you—uh—_want_ me to talk about Casey?" Then again, talking about feelings and Casey was always worse.

"…No."

* * *

Casey is curled up on her old couch. She's not crying but she feels really… lonely. She wants to talk to Emily about Sheldon and gossip, and she misses the family. But what surprises her the most is how much she misses Derek. Her stomach hurts, her eyes are burning, her throat is sore and she's worried that she might actually be dying of Derek withdrawal.

She wants someone to yell at and blame like she used to. The fights between each other kept her sane but now the only person she can yell at is herself. She can't help but think about the family's reaction to this (she can't even _imagine_ Derek's response). It's wrong.

_It's Wrong_. Right?

She's hung up on a boy again and she shouldn't even like him. Casey hasn't felt this conflicted since the Truman-incident. Sometimes Casey wonders if she had dated Truman because he _reminded _her of Derek, if somehow she had liked him the _whole_ time.

She wonders how she can ruin everything for a stupid boy. She couldn't have liked Derek. She _hated _Derek, even more so she hated that she couldn't hate him and that worries her the most.

* * *

" Hey, Bro—" _It's Edwin_.

A minute later the phone rings again and Derek intolerantly picks it up, " Yeah?"

" Hey, I think you might have accidentally hung up on me earlie—"

* * *

She's outside (read as—not in class or the dorm) for the first time in days and the sun literally _hurts_, so she's hidden herself at this remote, shady table. And as Casey nibbles on her sandwich, deep in though, a girl takes a seat near her.

" I'm a horrible person. I'm the worst person in the world…" Casey had mumbled to herself.

" I'm sure you're not that bad." It's the girl next to her. She has piercing along the ridge of her raising eyebrow and a lot of makeup on.

" Trust me, I am. I've got problems." Casey is not really sure why she spoke to this girl and she's sure that if it were any other occasion she wouldn't have.

" What, you pregnant?" The girl blows a pink bubble and slowly sucks it back in.

" No. I'm—I'm in love with my stepbrother."

" Oh, that sucks," And the girl was right, it _did _suck.

* * *

"Smerek." Derek hardly believes that they would stoop so low as to send his _Smarti_ after him.

" Not you too!"

" George said he'd buy me a pony." And Derek knows he can't compete with that.

" Casey?"

" Casey."

" What do I look like, my stepsister's keeper?"

" Well, you _do _go to the same college." Marti intones as Derek cringes.

* * *

Casey sits on her couch while her newfound friend (yes, the one from the campus) encourages (forces) her to call her mom. She traces the keypad several times before she puts the phone down on her lap. Her friend rolls her eyes and sighs. Casey feels the same way too because she had always thought that when it came down to things she always did the right thing.

Fortunately (unfortunately?) she is saved the trouble of calling when her mom bursts into her room. Her mother pants in the doorway for a while, her huge stomach heaving, and once again Casey feels guilty. The room is thick with tension and she feels like throwing up.

" Mom—"

" No, I can't believe you kept me worried for so long."

" But I—" Casey wonders if her mom will ever let her talk again.

" I thought you were in trouble! I thought something was wrong…" Her mother trails off in tears.

" Something is wrong. I did something wrong." Casey's own heartbeat is the only thing she hears now.

" What did you do?"

" I think I love Derek." Casey now waited for the apocalypse to come.

But she got this instead: " Oh, that's it?"

" That—_is that it_?" All the sleepless nights and the skipped meals equaled to ' That's it'.

" Casey, I thought you were pregnant or something!"

" _What?_"

" You didn't call for weeks!"

" I… I thought that if I told you, you would hate me."

"Now, although I don't approve—per se—I knew that it was always a possibility. I could never hate you for liking Derek. You should know that no matter what, we love you."

" You knew?"

" I'm a mom, I know everything."

" What am I gonna do?" Casey whines.

" Well, you could at least _tell_ him…"

* * *

" Derek—" But Derek has had enough.

" What? What is it this time? Let me guess, Casey's lost and you want me to go find her? Or—let me guess—you're _worried_."

" Um, no actually. I just wanted to say that I'm not missing anymore…" Casey coughs awkwardly and Derek feels his stomach sink.

" Oh, good." He's mad, seething, and all he wants to do is hang up on her and go missing for weeks too.

" I'm sorry. Can we talk?"

" We are talking." He wants to freak everyone out and have her worry about him too.

" In public?" Because even though he hadn't ever looked for her, he still cared.

" Fine."

* * *

They are sitting awkwardly at same shaded table where Casey had met her friends and no one is saying anything.

She can tell that he's really mad at her and she knows that she deserves it but he's making it so hard to talk.

" You wanted to talk, so talk." Derek keeps his voice leveled and even.

" I'm sorry—really, _really_—sorry that everyone kept calling you about me." She sounds as uneven as possible.

" It's fine."

" It's _not _fine. You're still mad."

" I'm fi—"

" Der—ek!"

" Well, you're the one who stopped talking to me!" And just like that, it's silent.

It takes her a moment before she speaks again, " I… I wasn't avoiding you because I was mad."

" Then why were you avoiding me?"

" I like you."

" Yeah, and…"

" I-I like you!"

" I get it."

" I like-like you…" She can feel her face heating up and has never felt more awkward than now.

" I know that." Derek sighs and rubs a hand through his hair.

" You—what?" Casey shrieks as Derek winces and sticks his fingers into his ears.

" I knew you liked me, you're so obvious it hurt just _looking _at you." She feels so stupid at this point and wishes she could disappear.

" If you _knew _so much, why didn't you _tell _me you moron?"

" Well, it was kind of funny watching you freak out,"

"…"

" And I didn't want to say anything… because I—you—I don't mind you liking me…" He's not looking at her now and she finally _gets_ it. She never really had to hide in the first place.

* * *

" Hey, D-man!"

" Edweirdo. I'm charging you for this call…"

" So you and Casey—"

" I'm hanging up."

" Wait! I need help and since you seem to be an expert on Mc Donald women… I just thought…"

" You and Liz? She's too good for you, man."

" H-hey, I think we'd be _great _together! I've really grown up since you've left. I've grown an inch—two inches—since I've last checked," Edwin breaks for a breath and then continues. "And—and last week I beat Lizzie in arm wrestling. Derek? Derek, Hello—o?"

* * *

A/N: I'm so glad this is dooooone! It kinda goes by fast but I got bored of it while writing it… and now that I look at it... it's so choppy! It's because I broke it up between Casey's story and phone calls to Derek while Casey's story is going on.


End file.
